scrap rate
n.— «Warner said she has even customers asking her to appraise a roll of nickels for the metal content. But because most dealers pay for what is known as the scrap rate of the day, would-be sellers might not be making quite the pretty penny they thought at first. “If you paid $200, say, for a wedding band, you’re not going to come and get $200 for it,” Warner said. “When they come in to sell it for scrap, basically, we’re paying them only for either the silver or the gold content—not the craftsmanship.”» —“Gold rush?” by Doug Howard Herald Journal (Monticello, Indiana) Mar. 15, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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